PLANS to open a halfway house for mental health patients in a village near Sleaford have been approved.

Doulton Lodge in Anwick is a privately-run, low security psychiatric unit which can currently house 27 male patients aged 18 to 64 who require treatment under the Mental Health Act.

An incident last month involving a patient at the unit, which police and paramedics attended, reaffirmed residents' concerns about security.

It also added fuel to their opposition to the proposals to convert an old cottage near the hospital to help patients reintegrate into mainstream society.

One pensioner told the Target about an incident in May when a patient had to be restrained by police.

North Kesteven District Council approved the planning application to extend Parva Cottage, an existing residential care home, and change the use of Magna Cottage and associated grounds from a dwelling to a rehabilitation step-down unit housing eight patients.

Magna Cottage is also earmarked to be extended and altered.

Overall, the alterations could increase the hospital population by 14 patients.

Villager Richard Coulson, 53, recently captured on camera a patient on the roof. He said: "We're concerned about security fencing, which will appear oppressive, and the safety issues if patients escape.

"The hospital is in a residential area and it is affecting people's quality of life, particularly as it was promised no further development would take place. We are concerned about the long-term effect on the village."

Richard Baxter, director of Turley Associates, which represented the hospital in the planning process, explained the plans amount to "residential institutional use" based on communal living in a low-secure environment.

He said: "Doulton Lodge is an existing low-secure hospital and patients are only admitted following detailed multi-agency assessment.

"Patients are considered suitable for admission based on a range of factors, but their status as being low risk to the public is paramount, not least because access to the host community can be an important part of their treatment, leading ultimately to their return to society."